Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Guest Comadres. Golden Age of Bookstores. First Floricanto in December.

Guest Columnist: Las Comadres Para Las Americas Interviews Lorraine LópezEditor's Note: La Bloga receives this interview from Condor Book Tours, an entrepreneurial public relations firm specializing in virtual book tours and Latina Latino authors. Condor's currently representing Las Comadres Para Las Americas' book, Count on Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships. Las Comadres Para Las Americas, a 501(c)(3) organization is an informal internet-based group that meets monthly in many US cities to build connections and community with other Latinas.I'm happy to join Condor and Las Comadres' virtual book tour widening the readership for a book about nurturing.

--Michael Sedano

Las Comadres Interviews Count On Me Author Lorraine López

Las Comadres: How you were first introduced to Las Comadres? Lorraine: Well – my book, The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters, came out about, I want to say 4 to 5 years ago I’m not sure. And at the time it was selected as a Las Comadres/Borders pick. That’s how I first became aware of Las Comadres. The same thing happened when my second novel came out – The Realm of Hungry Spirits – so I was interviewed on the air by Las Comadres. They publicized the book and it was just a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for me. Since then, I’ve learned about the organization and have been wholly impressed. I especially admire how after Borders® went under, the organization found a way to continue without that support. Las Comadres: Do you have any favorites in Count on Me? Lorraine: oh, I love Carolina de Roberti’s piece, which I read again this morning – very moving piece, just… very powerful. Also, Esmeralda Santiago’s piece I admire and Stephanie Elizondo-Greist, who is a contributor for one collection of ours, another anthology. I know her work and I’ve read her books and I loved her piece. I love the humor in it, the wit. Las Comadres: Is there a character in the book that you most identify with? Lorraine: That’s hard to say. I think there’re bits and pieces. I think because Carolina’s piece is so fresh in my mind – I would have to say that impetus to finish a book for someone. That resonates with me. I’ve never done that but I can see the feeling behind that, I can really empathize strongly with that; that desire, that motivation. Las Comadres: Your story is the only story in the collection that addresses the bond, the Comadre connection between the mentor and the mentee. What do you hope readers get out of your expression? Lorraine: I hope that they realize as the late Dr. Juan Bruce Novoa has said that this a great time to be a writer when we do have mentors, we do have people like Judith Ortiz Cofer, who are in a position to share their wisdom, share their resources, share pragmatic tips with this generation. This second generation and now even a third generation is emerging and so I hope that there is that recognition that yes, I need to avail myself of this resource of the wise women and men who have come before me and take advantage of this and to reach my potential through this help. There is nothing wrong or bad about it. It’s a great tradition, if fact. I hope that there’s that recognition that we are not alone. We are not alone as a Latina writer. You’re not alone. You have people who have found their way, established a path and you can rely on them. Whether it’s just by being in their physical presence- I was lucky enough to be in the physical presence of Judith Ortiz Cofer but you can also do this with books, by reading the works of pre-established writers who forged the way for us.I hope that there is something that comes of this. Las Comadres: Do you feel that there is a strong distinction and difference between saying that someone is a friend or saying someone is Comadre? And if so, how do you describe that distinction? Lorraine: Comadre… The idea of Comadre, to me, suggests layers of mutual benefit; that symbiosis. Friendship is less layered. For me, friendship is… ‘yes, this is my friend. I enjoy this persons company’ but we are not beholden to one another in the way that comadrazgo does make one beholden to the other person. A friend might, for example- just a pragmatic example – a friend might send me an email. I am under no compunction to answer that for 24 hours. But, if my Comadre sends me an email, I need to answer it right away. If my Comadre calls, I always need to take that call. And it works the other way, too. We need to be…know that we can, as the book says, count on one another. There is that element of ‘yes, I depend on you and you depend on me’. We can be reliable to one another- we MUST be. Las Comadres: What do you see as the reasons that a woman needs a Comadre in her life? Lorraine: Wow! Well, first I would start with: Just for the purpose of having someone you trust and rely on. I think that is just the basic building block of human relationship that has depth and substance, knowing there is someone there you can trust and someone you can rely on. Secondly – and I don’t want to say that men don’t need this as well but – I think relationships between men have been really firmly entrenched in professional systems and academic systems and we even have a name for it in the South, ‘The Good Ol’ Boys Club” and I think women have been locked out of that for a very long time. In fact, there is this big bru-ha-ha because the CEO of Yahoo! ® is now pregnant. The first pregnant woman to ever be a CEO of a major corporation and this is so exciting.Okay, this is 2012 but we’re talking it’s taken so long. So it’s evidence that we are not where we should be; we are not represented as we should be. So, I think, for women this kind of relationship is even more important. In my life it has been integral to my success and to my professional advancement, for sure. That is stated plainly in my essay. I think we need help and we need to help each other because we have been disenfranchised, and we have been marginalized so this is critical, ‘critical’ as such a relationship is.And third, I would say… it’s just plain fun to have Judith in my life. She’s smart, she’s funny and that goes with the element of trust. You can’t relax and joke with someone you cannot trust. She’s coming to visit in February to give a reading at Vanderbilt and that is getting me through the semester already, which hasn’t started. Just the idea that she will be here soon, and I can laugh and I can relax and I can be with someone that I trust and love and admire.Those are three reasons. I’m sure I could continue but… It’s a source – almost like refueling. You meet this person who has become an integral part of your life and when you see her you feel invigorated, re-energized – so I guess that’s number four, (laugh).Las Comadres: What do you consider your greatest achievement?Lorraine: Well, probably a negative thing. You know, I love my books. I always love my books and I love my writing. My ‘Homicide Survivors Picnic’ was a pen popular finalist and I got to go to D.C. That was a really wonderful day. I feel like that might be the zenith of my writing career and I'm glad to have had that and that’s great. It was also liberating, now I can feel ‘okay, I did that and now I can just write for me.’ So, that was pretty great but I think really, the best accomplishment, the thing I feel proudest about, apart from my children, I'm very proud of my children, is that when I was in a really bad situation, I didn’t do something terrible. I could have done something really, really terrible. I thought about doing something unspeakably terrible that would have changed me forever and I decided not to do it. I'm proud of that. I'm really, really proud at not doing the terrible thing. Las Comadres: My last question is more like a fill in the blank… I am proud to be a Latina because: ______(fill in the blank). Lorraine: Because this is the great time to be a Latina, and especially a great time to be a Latina writer. The world is just opening up for us in big and beautiful ways and I feel very lucky to be part of that.About Lorraine LópezLorraine Lopez’ first book, Soy la Avon Lady, won the inaugural Miguel Marmól Prize. Her novel, Call Me Henri, was awarded the Paterson Prize, and her novel, The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters, was a 2008 Borders/Las Comadres Selection. Lorraine’s short story collection, Homicide Survivors Picnic, was reviewed in La Bloga and was a 2010 Finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Prize. She edited a collection of essays titled, An Angle of Vision. Her novel, The Realm of Hungry Spirits, was released in 2011. She has co-edited, with Blas Falconer, The Other Latin@. She teaches fiction writing at Vanderbilt University. Learn more about Lorraine at www.lorrainelopez.netArte Publico Announces Secret Discount

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3 comments:

"This is the great time to be a Latina, and especially a great time to be a Latina writer," says Lorraine Lopez. I whole-heartedly agree! Growing up, I always somehow felt ashamed of my heritage, even though my parents always wanted me to be proud. I'd felt that growing up in a working class Mexican-American neighborhood had somehow been a hindrance.

Now even though I don't necessarily walk around waving a Latina flag, I completely embrace that it is part of who I am, and I let it come out in my writing, my music playing, my mannerisms... no one ever leaves my house without being well-fed and a big abrazo.

It's important to be optimistic; but let's keep in mind that writers need to do more than writing. We need to buy & read each others books, participate in and be supportive of groups like Las Comadres Para Las Americas who pave the way for many of us to become visible. (I'm giving "Count on Me" as Xmas gifts this year.) We need to step out to create and nurture an audience; and most important, our writing must excel. It is up to each individual writer to be prepared to take advantage of this wonderful moment.

I love Lorraine Lopez' work, so I was excited to read her interview. I definitely enjoyed reading about what her greatest achievement was and also what the word 'comadre' means to her. I've always thought that it referred to someone who was a godparent - as I was taught that within my own Chicano household. I had no idea it moved beyond that single relationship and included female friendships in general. I love knowing this now and will most definitely be employing that term when I refer to my friends and family. Count on Me sounds like a great book that I need to read ASAP!